Put out the fire when the reels get hot, July 3, 2013

A father’s day gift was all that was needed to coax three generations to form a father family fishing trip. Jim invited his father Wes and son Mich to join him on a fishing trip. Wes lives in Grimsby, but both Mich and Jim live in Stoney Creek not far from where I grew up.

Jim is a long time Firefighter and had recently watched his son Mich, follow his dad’s footsteps to wear the uniform and bear the crest as a Hamilton Firefighter.

The evening fish meant leaving the dock at 5:00 pm and making our way out onto the flat lake with fog that surrounded the boat making it difficult to see past a mile. I followed my GPS plotter intently and kept a close watch over the bow to avoid any debris or headheads in the water (commonly found on the surface in recent trips).

We set down west of the Grimsby Weather Marker in roughly 75 FOW. From there we trolled outward towards deeper water and discovered that the picture on the SONAR continued to mark good schools of bait as we ventured deeper. When we hit 140 FOW all ten rods were in the water fishing, but I wanted to make one change. “Let’s set up the meat” I said to Mark as he steered the boat heading North. I matched a roller head with a piece of meat behind a King Fisher Oki 11” flasher and put that back 15 feet and down on the rigger going deep. After setting the rod we waited. Now we were nearly 45 minutes into our trip and the rods stayed still, but the SONAR showed much activity below the surface.

The flies came upon us on the boat, biting our ankles and causing curses to fly with them everytime we went to swat. Then the buzzing from fly wings was replaced by the buzzing of the Okuma Clarion as the drag sang pulling the knot the held the braid backing to the 400 feet of copper line below the surface and the rod bounced.

Wes jockeyed into position to sit at the “Box Seat”, handed him the rod and then we coached him to reel down-pull up. I suggested we share the fight between the three, and one by one the fish inched it’s way closer to the boat. Marking the copper at every 100 ft, the excitement built up to see this fish as we made it to the home stretch. The lengthy fight allowed plenty of time to turn the boat and clear the rods from one side making a path to the back of the boat clear from obstruction. This also meant that the boat would be angled back to the waters we hooked up in since we now ventured out to 180 FOW and the SONAR began to draw clear of underwater activity.

The fish comes to the net and the guys are ecstatic with its size. Collectively this fish was much bigger than any other fish they have caught. The measuring tape showed a total length of 40” but the fish was thin, on the scales it read 24 ½ lbs. A team effort, Nicely done!

The next two hours the fishing on high lines began picking away at rainbow trout and we also managed one small Chinook that came off at the back of the boat and one Lake Trout on the 400 copper. At 8:00pm I brought in one of the Planerboards since it was an opportune time to bring it in for the last hour of fishing. I was midship when Mark yelled “rigger, rigger”. I wasn’t there to grab it, but Mich was on it pulling the rod out of the Walker Downrigger rod holder and began reeling. The fish was swimming up towards the surface and we told Mich to “reel, reel, reel!” That he did and he pulled up all the slack to the point where the rod tighted up in a nice arch and then I said “say good by – that fish will be going for a run”. Sure enough the drag clicked out slowly and then began to speed up, faster and faster. The 17 lbs Trilene XT clear monofilament line was dashing off the reel. Surely the reel drag disks were burning hot, but we had the right guys on the job. Where the reel read 160 feet to begin it’s set, it now read 450 ft in less than two minutes. We turned the boat and quartered the fish off the Port side to reduce the momentum.

Again the three took turns reeling in this fish and when it came into view the Oki Flasher popped out of the water, but the fish was not to be seen. It’s dark back blended into the dark water background and it wasn’t until the fish was 15 feet from the boat when it was known to be another quality Chinook salmon. Wes was the last guy on the rod as he cracked up the fish when it took a turn toward the rigger cable and I had to handle the line to steer the fish towards the mouth of the net. It worked! The fish was netted and I hoisted it over the motor and onto the floor. Again the guys were euphoric and Wes said “ I think it might be bigger than the other one.

From Photo_Gallery12

The measuring tape showed the fish being shorter by 2 inches, but on the scales it was only 1 pound less than the first at 23 ½ lbs.

A night to remember and I’m sure a few fish stories will be shared at the Firehall.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Maker a Laker, June 22, 2013

“When in doubt- Trout them out”, an old Lake Ontario Charter saying that has merit when the Salmon fishing bite isn’t the best. Salmon are a nomad fish species inhabiting all parts of the open waters of Lake Ontario. There are periods of time where salmon are slim pickings from reachable distances from your home port, and then there are times a short boat ride will get you in the vicinity of large numbers of black mouths (Chinook salmon have black mouths).

We target salmon as a priority, for a reason- they are hard fighting and make good table fair. Trout at times are our second option or often regarded as “Plan B”, They can be more predictable and more numerous at times. But the way we angle for trout species are not the same in all regards. Brown Trout are plentiful in the spring and we troll shallow water with body baits off planerboards, Rainbow Trout are our summer time MVP’s and we work the top portion of the water column and in some instances over the deepest parts of the lake, Then we have Lake Trout that are very prolific along the southshore, but requires tactics that run baits closer to bottom and usually presented at a slower trolling speed.

From Photo_Gallery6

Of the three trout species, Lake Trout are the least desired amoungst avid Lake Ontario anglers. They are characterized by their lackluster fighting capability, poor taste, and slimy, stinky fish that makes a mess of the boat. Like Sheepshead are to the Lake Erie Walleye fisherman, or the Rock bass to the Muskoka Bass fisherman, Lake Trout are at times, in the way of catching our sought after fish species. When I return from a charter consisting of numerous successful catches of Lake Trout, my wife is quick to point out how stinky my boat is, when I back it into the drive way. Out comes the hose!

Greasers, boots and mud chickens are a few of the favourite nick-names given to our bottom dwelling grey trout. Is it really the Lake Trout that should be disrespected? Or should we- as my Mom would say, “consider the source”, meaning look at the name caller. Southshore Lake Ontario anglers are might I say, “blessed with the opportunity to catch Lake Trout”. We are spoiled, in fact, since any poor day of fishing for silver fish, can quickly turn a near skunked trip into a few grey coloured trout on the line before long. Our spoiled nature is revelled when we talk to very well respected salmon fisherman from with home ports along the North shore of Lake Ontario, discussing with enthusiasm of catching the odd Lake Trout (like one a year) from those ports.

Differences in Lake Trout outlook from Lake Ontario trollers is divided. Even more divided are the clients in which we host on charters out of our southshore ports. To most guests, a Lake Trout is that of only a few notches less than a big Salmon for requests to catch on our trips. Most don’t have a preference to a species of fish, at all.

Today’s trip was one of those days that would make Lake Trout the real saving grace! We pressed on with our Plan A running spoons and Flasher Fly presentations at typical salmon trolling speeds and suspended higher in the water column. We managed 2 rainbow Trout on short Leadcore high lines off the planerboards, a nice fighting coho salmon on a set to mid-depth downrigger, but the Lake Trout came on deeper set rigs targeting lazy and reluctant to bite, Chinook Salmon. A rod armed with 400 ft of Copper line was stellar, taking more time to reel in a fish and set it back out, then it did to hook another Lake Trout.

Our clients for the day were thrilled, cranking in Lake Trout after Lake Trout . They claimed that they normally fish for carp and believe it to be the best eating fish. They insisted we keep the Lake Trout for the fillet knife and we splashed them into the fish box. Much of the discussion was in another language throughout the trip, but it was easy to see that these Lakers were the big hit!

Near the end of the trip, we hook into a fish that pulled 150 feet of drag off the reel that submerged 400 ft of copper. I smiled this time and Mark also grinded and we said, almost in unison, “kinger!” It was a long heavy fight and when the fish came into view it wasn’t a King Salmon after all- It was a Lake Trout. Not just any Lake Trout, but one that had a head and body girth the dimensions of the body of a full sized dog. It was massive. We quickly netted the fish and the happy laughter echoed across the lake. We weighed the beast and it pulled the scale down to 24 ½ lbs, the largest Lake Trout we have ever taken on the boat.

From Photo_Gallery12

As charter operators, Lake Trout are our “Plan B”, and after a tough bite for silver fish, the throttle goes down and the baits go down to the bottom where we bend a rod and hand it over to a smiling client. That’s what it’s all about. “Maker a Laker”

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

A graduation gift from Mexico, June 20, 2013

There are times in life we look at as milestone events. Graduation from any post-secondary education has to rank as one of the top 10 milestones in anyone’s life. Andre from North of Toronto had recently graduated from police foundations program is about to embark on a career in Law enforcement. To add to the successful completion of schooling, his Granfather Margarito was up to Canada from Mexico to share in his celebration and to share time with Andre since he was free from his attention to the text books.

Margarito was nothing short of a man of much experience fishing and hunting. Travels to many places around the world had provided him many different fishing experiences. This was to be his second fishing trip on Lake Ontario fishing for Salmon. His first trip was out on a charter departing from Port Credit and he was happily welcomed to Canada with a 30 lbs Chinook Salmon, but no other fish were caught but it was enough to suggest to his grandson to try Salmon fishing and was treated for his efforts in school.

We left the dock at 5:00 pm from Foran’s Marine and the lake was with a light chop and overcast skys. We aimed North until sitting down in about 130 FOW just west of the Grimsby Weather Marker. Fishing up to this point was slow with only the odd salmon caught and Lake Trout were on the line more than they were off the line on most recent days.

Immediately into our troll the SONAR screen provided a display of the best picture we had seen since last year. Bait was “balled-up” at various levels of the water column and the fish were all over them on the graph. Lines of fish weaved up and down through the downrigger lines and through schools of bait. Activity seemed to be bursting with excitement and we stayed on our toes, arms out waiting to spring into action when a rod fires. But it didn’t occur on cue. Over and over again in our minds we said here we go, and the moment would pass as we stared focused on any movement on the rods. I was jumpy and knew the opportunity to trick a fish to bite would come sooner rather than later.

Then it happened 1 hour into our troll when we were in front of Fifty Point hump in 140 FOW. The downrigger was set to 95 feet and a 30 ft lead with a White Killer SpinDoctor with a Hammer Fly bounced and sprung. I grabbed the rod and took up the slack and tightened up on the line where I handed the rod over to Andre. I first thought – “another Lake Trout” as I turned to work on another line when I hear the reel peel and I jerked to look over my shoulder at Andre and the rigger rod maxed out. “Ahhh that’s no Lake trout, Happy Graduation Andre!”

The fish pulled some line and then turned to the boat and we managed to net the fish without much trouble. We brought it on board and it weighed about 14 ½ lbs but was as silver as a spring time Chinook with black fins and a pot belly. Andre’s biggest fish to date and his Grandfather said in Spanish, “Felicidades” meaning congratulations.

The deep set was a cue to move a wire diver down to those same depths. On a 2 setting I let out 270 feet of 30 lbs wire line to manage the diver towing a Mountain Dew/B-fly combo down to 85 feet. An hour later the wire rod pounded with a furry. In your mind you image a big king swaying it’s head back and forth with all its strength, then the rod was handed to Margarito at the same instant the rod buckled over and a constant pull of wire line peel the drag and rolled out over the guides at an alarming rate. Margarito smiled with his two gold capped teeth as he muscled the fish towards the boat. Clipping the net under the fish it was clear the night was another successful trip on Lake Ontario. Amoungst a few other smaller fish for the night Margarito’s fish was the biggest measuring 22 lbs.

Before pulling all the lines we had Andre and Margarito hold there catches as the sun dipped below the horizon.

From Photo_Gallery12

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Queen Victoria Day Kings have arrived, May 20, 2013

I get to fish with some great people throughout the year, but nothing is more enjoyable then one-on-one time with my son, Aidan. Every parent knows how it feels when your son or daughter score their first goal, that same feeling is when you watch them fight a fish that is half their size, get emotional about how difficult it is to reel in and then when the fish gets in the net, the floor of the boat will not see their feet for the next few minutes as they jump up and down yelling in celebratory fashion.

From Photo_Gallery12

Yesterday was one of those days, where we launched the boat from St Catharines Marina and ran up to the New York Ontario border line off the ledge of the Niagara Bar. We set up in 190 FOW and the first fish came within 10 minutes on Glow Frog Diver, Green/Glow on Black Spinny and matching fly. This same set managed 4 kings for the day as uI stretched out the lead on the diver from 210, 220, 230, 270 ft as the day went along.

The first fish, and the rest to follow, were all on Aidan's arms to fight, unless we doubled up which happened twice with the highlight being at the end when the Rigger fired with MC Rocket down 124 ft and the wire diver fired and I was on it. 18 lbs king on the diver and Aidan tells me the reel reads 607 ft. Knowing this was the perfect end to the morning, I pulled everything and set the kicker on idle and let Aidan lay a smack down on this fish. He said, "dad all this reeling will help my wrist shot". That's a true Canadian Boy!

From Photo_Gallery12

We got his fish in the boat and he was beside himself while another boat with a family trolled past and gave him a round of applause. 21 lbs on the scale and the largest of the day!

These fish are for a MNR study on stomach contents. Also 5 of the 7 kings had Ad clips and I will send in the snouts to have them check for Coded Wire Tags.

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Grays for United Way, May 19, 2013

In the fall of 2012 I donated a 3 person 4 hour trip to the United Way City of Hamilton Online Auction. Of roughly 40 items in the auction the fishing trip was second only to Toronto Maple Leaf Tickets and the winning bid for the fishing trip was to the highest bidder Bill Jr.

I wanted to make this a great trip to show my appreciation for their generous donation to the United Way, but the fishing for salmon was dismal to non-existent leading up to our planned date with Lady “O”. I called Bill and described the situation and commented that we still can target Lake Trout (Grey Trout) or we can reschedule our trip when the fishing for salmon improves. Bill said let’s get out there and fish for Lake Trout and enjoy the day. The morning was with light winds and scattered clouds. We boated to the east side of Grimsby and set up in 80 FOW.

From Photo_Gallery12

The Cowbells and Peanuts were put on the bottom using two downriggers, the other 8 rods we ran were with baits that we would hope to find some silvers higher in the water column.

It wasn’t long and the downriggers tracing the bottom were getting bites. Bill Sr was first up, but part way through the fight he was feeling the effects of an aching shoulder and his grandson 15 year old Cameron took over and netted his biggest fish ever. The lake trout was a 5 or 6 lbs fish and I had the feeling he would have the bar set higher as we continued throughout our short trip. The next two the fish were lost during the fight. We found some warmer water that reached 53’F in front of Beamsville and there were some suspended fish that looked like they could be Salmon. We watched the rods in anticipation, but it was a no show from fish with silver sides.

From Photo_Gallery12

We turned out to over deeper water to take a look and the water went colder so we turned back to shallower water and the parade of Grey Trout came one after another and provided plenty of action for the three to go home with stories of Cameron’s personal best notched up three times.

Grey’s made the day for this United Way Charter, Thanks to Bill for his generous donation to the organization.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com

Adam and High school buds; Joe and Matt hook some Lake Trout, May 4, 2013

I have known Adam in recent years at the City of Hamilton. He worked for Real-estate in the Economic Development and every once and a while I would provide some Geographic Information System (GIS) software and data support for his needs in looking up property information using City Planning data. Adam recently found work in Halton Region in a similar roll and it is always interesting to hear the comparison of notes between the two organizations. Although the municipal structure is slightly different since Halton remained a two tier system and Hamilton was an amalgamated city 12 years ago. Adam mentioned that Halton has money and great people to work with, but a ton of work to keep up with development.

Matt is an Electrician living in Hamilton and Joe lives in Toronto and working hard to get on a Police Force. The three went to High school together, and although post-secondary schooling and careers sent them in different directions, they still maintain a friendship.

The morning was the Reelbuddies.net Salmon Slammin’ Tournament and the returning boats were with long faces from a slow bite. Mark Penner who was to assist with this afternoons charter returned to dock with 4 Chinook Salmon and one Rainbow Trout. The five fish managed the win in the tournament and I was eager to hear the details before we pushed off the dock.

We departed St Catharines Marina at 15:20 hrs and with Mark’s first hand morning tournament experience we headed in the direction where he managed the fish to win the tournament. We ran to the Canada/US border line on the ledge of the Niagara Bar. It was the intent to make the run into the wind and then troll back with the east wind on the stern. We sat down and began our troll with 8 lines ranging from 80 feet down to just under the surface looking for anything willing to bite. Throughout the next 1 ½ we made changes and trolled in and out from the drop off on the Niagara Bar Ledge. We marked a few but Mark said the picture changed since the morning tournament bite.

The rods didn’t move with a bite so I thought let’s get in shallow and look for a few greys to bite in the East wind conditions. We turned into 60 FOW and with a few adjustments in the rigger depths and adjust to a slower speed, the first few marks of fish on the SONAR turned into an instant strike on the downrigger set to 42 ft. First fish was reeled in by Joe and it was a 7 lbs Lake Trout that bit a Warrior Blue Dolphin Mag spoon. We broke the ice!

The center rigger traced the bottom with a SpinDoctor 8 inch and an MountDew Green Dot Magnum MC Rocket. After the boat was steered into Lake Trout grounds on the top of the Ledge, the center rigger bumped with another Lake Trout. I grab the rod and pass the rod over to Adam and the fish spits the hook.

The next change to add another presentation to the spread of lures out behind the boat was to add a full core chute rod (pulled behind the boat and not on a planer board). On it we put a Mirage Howie Fly on a ProTroll that I had customized with Gold and green dots on crush glow. The rod bent over minutes later and Adam was up for the challenge.

The fish was an obvious heavy, but we were unsure it was a Lake Trout or a lazy Chinook salmon. The pressure on the rod/line was nothing short of testing breaking strength. The fish was sounding and vicious head shakes would have everyone holding our breath and then laughing at Adam’s struggle trying to reel this fish in. When the fish finally came to within sight, there was no question this was a big Lake Trout. We scooped the fish in the net and Adam was smiling from ear to ear.

From Photo_Gallery12

The fish on the scale in the boat read 21 lbs and because I have purchased a boat ticket for the St Catharines Game & fish Derby, that makes everyone eligible on the boat to fish the derby and this fish would be one to bring to the scales. The leader after Saturday morning was a 19 lbs Lake Trout and this was looking like we had a leader at least for the short term, but their were two three other Lake Trout brought in that would set the bar very high. 29, 28, and a 25 would push Adam’s fish into a fourth place slot for the current standing.

After boating that big Lake Trout and knowing that the sun was starting into the dusk hour, we emphasised our efforts for a Salmon. We trolled out off the Ledge and then further west to in front of four Mile Point and then turned back in towards Weller Bay. We marked next to not fish until we reached 60 ft of water where we saw a few good hooks following the downrigger weights and staying with us for a little while before tailing off.

From Photo_Gallery12

It wasn’t meant to be and the salmon were left to bite another day, but long time friends Adam, Matt and Joe will have the story to tell and the memory of a worthy derby Lake Trout entry to keep for a long time

Shane Thombs
www.FINtasticSportfishing.com

Lanny is met with blue spring skies and silver spring salmon, May 3, 2013

This would make my first trip to target spring salmon. Last weeks tournament results from participants fishing the King Of the Lake tournament were with dismal results. A slow start to the salmon fishing season is the reality, however we know that, like a light switch, Chinooks can show up and the fishing can go from tough to terrific.

This will make two days of consistent and fair weather with sunny skies and calm mornings. We launched from Port Dalhousie and powered up to boat towards Port Weller. 3/4 of the way to Port Weller I stopped to take a look, and the SONAR reveled very little but had some decent surface temperature at 49'F! We ran a to Port Weller and set up 2 riggers, 2 inline planerboards, one of which was a 3 colour leadcore with a Lymans.

15 minutes into the troll the 3 colour takes a fish. A female rainbow trout that looked like it just finishing spawning in a nearby creek with worn out fins and skinny appearance.

The next 4 hours we struggled to get another strike. We worked 50-70 FOW between Port Weller and in front of Weller bay. We worked hard on a few locations that we marked great fish that came in under the boat through the down riggers.

Then we finally got a strike, The downrigger with a Dreamweaver Spoon set 70 feet back and 27 ft down. The drag indicated a decent salmon and it came to surface a few times and then came to the net. This one went roughly 15 lbs and it's fins were black in colour and it was very shinny silver. Love those silver salmon.

From Photo_Gallery12

The turn back through the areas also caught us another salmon, but this time a coho. Same spoon, same depth, same set. Now it was noon and we watched other boat go in or continue to fish in front of Port Dalhousie. The thought was maybe the fish were in the 49'F water we discovered first thing in the morning. But we trolled all the way to Port Dalhousie and the water never reached the same temps.

Slow bite prevails this day, but a few silver fish made the trip a successful outcome.

Shane Thombs
www.fintasticsportfishing.com